BOSTON, MA – JULY 12: Carlos Narváez #75 of the Boston Red Sox reacts during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park on July 12, 2025, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/ Getty Images)
The unsung hero of the Boston Red Sox 2025 season has undoubtedly been Carlos Narváez. Acquired in a rare trade with the Yankees at last year’s winter meetings in exchange for pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Narváez has established himself as Boston’s starting catcher, and as one of the games most premier defensive catchers. In his rookie season, Narváez is having one of the best seasons by a catcher in the franchise’s illustrious 124-year history. Let’s break down what has made Narváez so valuable for the Red Sox.
Baseball’s Premier Defensive Catcher
The Boston Red Sox have appeared in the postseason just once since their last World Series title in 2018, with three last place finishes. A significant reason for their struggles is the team’s poor defensive play. Since the start of the 2019 season, the Red Sox rank 1st in errors with 642, 15th in Defensive Runs saved with 15 and 27th in Outs Above Average –105.
Following the departure of Christian Vázquez in July of 2022 in a trade with the Houston Astros, catching defense had been a problematic issue for Boston. In 2024, Boston’s catching trio of Connor Wong, Reese McGuire and Danny Jansen combined for -15 Defensive Runs Saved behind the plate. As of August 26th, Carlos Narváez’s 16 defensive runs saved is the best among catchers this season and a +31 differential from what the Red Sox catchers produced last season and the most by a Red Sox catcher since Defensive Runs Saved became a stat in 2003.
Narváez’s biggest strength behind the plate is his arm. In fact, he may be the best catcher in baseball when it comes to controlling the opponents running game. Through 94 games, Carlos Narváez has thrown out twenty-five base runners, tied for the most in baseball with Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, as the old saying goes “You steal off of the pitcher not the catcher.” Well, nobody is better at protecting pitchers from giving up stolen bases than Carlos Narváez.
Baseball Savant’s Caught Stealing Above Average (CSAA) is a metric that measures how many more or fewer runners a catcher throws out than expected based on important factors such as the speed of the runner, the size of the lead, pitch location and how quick the pitcher delivered the ball to the plate. In 2025, Carlos Narváez CSAA of 8, is the best in baseball and Baseball Savant estimates that it has saved Narváez has saved about five runs for the Red Sox through throwing out base stealers.
What stands out the most when watching Narváez behind the plate is how well rounded, he is defensively. Narváez is one of just three catchers to rank in the 75th percentile or higher in blocking, throwing and framing this season along with Patrick Bailey of the San Francisco Giants and Sean Murphy of the Atlanta Braves. To make matters even more impressive, he is the only one of the three catchers to rank in the 85th percentile or higher in all three categories.
Narváez’s numbers make a strong case for him to be baseball’s most premier defensive catcher along with Patrick Bailey of the Giants. According to Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value metric, which encapsulates all of Statcast’s individual defensive metrics onto the same run base scale, Carlos Narváez’s FRV of 13 is the third best among catchers behind only Patrick Bailey and Alejandro Kirk, placing in the 97th percentile in all of baseball, making him one of baseball’s most ten most valuable defenders for 2025.
A Hitter Tailor Made for Fenway Park
We’ve talked at length about Narváez’s defensive impact, but strong offensive catchers are a true rarity in the game of baseball. The grueling physical demands of a catcher often impact their health, offensive output and overall career longevity. What truly matters is a catcher’s ability to call a game, control the run game and his relationship with his pitching staff. Carlos Narváez does all of those things exceptionally well but that does not mean he is a slouch at the plate.
Throughout the first half of the season, Narváez hit .273/.347/.439 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs and for a good portion of the season, Narváez served as a middle of the order bat with injuries to Alex Bregman, Tristian Casas and the departure of Rafael Devers. Unfortunately, a knee injury has bothered Narváez in the second half, and he has only hit .167/.221/.333 in his last 21 games.
Overall, on the season, Narváez is hitting .249/.320/.415 which is about the league average for a hitter. You will notice a lot of blue when you look at Carlos Narváez’s baseball savant page.
However, there are signs he can be a solid offensive contributor. Narváez’s 91.3 Average Exit Velocity ranks in the 78th percentile and given the fact he is a Right-Handed Hitter at Fenway Park, his bat could greatly benefit from the Green Monster. In fact, Narváez has very much enjoyed hitting at Fenway where he sports a .832 OPS, which is the fifth best on the Red Sox. His ability to hit the ball hard from the right side at Fenway Park will help Narváez offensively. If Narváez can stay healthy, he can build off a solid 2025 season at the plate and further establish himself as a solid hitting catcher.
A Historic Season for a Historic Franchise
Like all rookies there is still room for growth for Narváez when it comes to hitting but despite the recent struggles at the plate, it is clear that Narváez has cemented himself as one of the best all-around catchers in baseball in just his first Major League Season. Narváez is one of six catchers in Baseball to have an OPS of at least .730 OPS and a positive Fielding Run Value in 2025 and his 3.0 Wins Above Replacement is fifth among catchers behind only Cal Raleigh, Will Smith, William Contreras and Carson Kelly.
If Narváez’s pace continues, he will be one of eight catchers in Red Sox history to have a season with a 3.0 Wins Above Replacement, only the fifth since World War 2 and the first since Victor Martinez in 2010. Like all catchers’ consistency will be difficult to maintain due the grueling physical and mental toll the position takes but if Carlos Narváez can stay healthy the Red Sox may have one of the best catchers in franchise history for years to come.
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